Dallas Stars Blog

Lehtonen to start in goal for Stars

Dallas Stars coach Marc Crawford confirmed after this morning’s skate that Kari Lehtonen will start in tonight’s game against St. Louis.

The decision is significant for two reasons.

There had been some thought of giving the start to minor-league callup Matt Climie. With the Stars still hanging on in the race for a playoff spot, Crawford decided to give the team its best chance of winning by going with Lehtonen, who is 5-2 with a .931 save percentage in his last seven games.

This will be the first time Lehtonen has started on consecutive days since undergoing two back surgeries more than a year ago. If Lehtonen can handle the physical demands of playing back-to-back games, it make it more likely that he will replace Marty Turco as the No. 1 goalie next season.